I'm now in that phase of pushing my business and am forging an internet presence for myself. I'm not a fool and I know that by putting my phone nnumber out there I'm going to get people calling me wanting to empty my wallet!
I've just had a call from the Police Community Clubs Magazine asking if I want to put an advert in the magazine. It's £149 for the year (1/8 page advert). I haven't paid any money yet but I will do... maybe.
Have anybody else come across them? Do they call you (from a mobile number ) to get you to sign up? Is this a scam? If it's not a scam will the £149 be worth it?
Thanks in advance!
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Please correct me if I'm wrong... I am only human sucking up knowledge... Sometimes bits leak out!
I can tell you as a Special Constable in Scotland I have NEVER EVER seen any of these magazines in a police office. I wouldn't pay for an ad in a magazine whose circulation is questionable.
There's nothing wrong particularly with cold callers, sometimes I'm interested in what they are selling. The key is never to make a decision there and then, and tell them this. Tell them yo have a tight marketing budget and will need to review it and get back to them. If they tell you it's a limited time offer I would thank them for the call and say in that case I am not interested, don't be pressured into buying quickly.
Thanks for the quick replies, and I think I'll be giving this "opportunity" a miss. If they call again I will tell them.
I don't want to start out assuming every cold caller is a scam because I have taken advantage of good deals from cold callers! But I don't want to be scammed out of the little money I am making right now.
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Please correct me if I'm wrong... I am only human sucking up knowledge... Sometimes bits leak out!
Wow... these guys are pushy! Called them back to say I don't want this service and they've texted me...
"the police community clubs of great britain is a genuine cause nicola as i said you pay the money to the clubs direct those things on the internet are publishing companies who you pay as i said you write the check to the clubs go to our website as i said look at listings ring barry jones his mobile number on there if you like we are not a scam company don't witheld numbers an confirm everything in writing"
I kid you not...
Even if they are geuniune I won't be using a company who can't use basic punctution!
Haha... I may be blonde but I'm not that dense.
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Please correct me if I'm wrong... I am only human sucking up knowledge... Sometimes bits leak out!
Why would a copper need a bookkeeper? i know police and firepersons moonlight but i would think they do it on the quiet. Who else would read such a magazine? I have never recieved one (general public)
I would have to say that the majority of special constables in my division are small business owners, I understand the same to be true of many of the retained firefighters in my area.
That said, for the numbers we're talking (in the low hundreds in my force) it's probably not the right advertising method, even if they were to see it.
Kris
-- Edited by kjmcculloch83 on Wednesday 16th of November 2011 12:44:00 PM
Must be the different areas we live in Kris. But then again i haven't seen a special around here for a while, seen loads of armed response units and soco, even saw a CSI van the other day. CSI North Manchester, that'd make a cracker of a telly programme.
My Brother-in-law is a policemen and he is training/working as an electrician in his spare time. Police, especially MET are encouraged to retire early after a certain number of years service and most are still young enough to learn whole new trade. Most of his colleagues are doing the same and all will require bookkeepers at some point. Unfortunately for me, my sister-in-law is an accountant so she gets all the business.
This has been doing the rounds for years. The magazine does not go out to anyone, and no-one reads it.
One company I worked for year ago receive an invoice after one of the sales people said "he wanted to think about it".... I originally went on a forum to ask others opinions and they threated to sue me personally for slandering the company (!)
In the end we did not pay it as the sales person did not have the authority to put the order through and I always insisted nothing go paid without a purchase order authorised by a dept head - which I pointed out to the company.
So they're illiterate and expect you to pay for advertising you didn't want?
I've been thinking about this today since this phone call and I only really want to advertise locally anyway, and it's much cheaper. If any of these big marketing companies call I will respectfully decline before they start their shpeel... That and it annoys me when they call me by my first name at the beginning of every sentence, I'm all for making people feel comfortable but I won't forget my own name every 20 seconds!!
__________________
Please correct me if I'm wrong... I am only human sucking up knowledge... Sometimes bits leak out!
That and it annoys me when they call me by my first name at the beginning of every sentence, I'm all for making people feel comfortable but I won't forget my own name every 20 seconds!!
Oooh, that really annoys me as well. Not only the fact that these people use your first name at the beginning ...and end....of every sentence, but that they use your first name at all. Call me old-fashioned and of the old school if you like, but I think they should use Mr. or Mrs (or Miss...or Ms..lol). In my mind it shows respect.
Yiks. I had a similair call a month or so back. Even though I wasn't interested, he sounded soo convincing in that he was calling on advertising space in a local area police community business information leaflet /magazine, which was going out to all local businesses during festive period. Dalbir
) to get you to sign up? Is this a scam? If it's not a scam will the £149 be worth it?
